


Abods Soul - An Overly Detailed Guide

by Skeren



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Gender Identity, Gender Roles, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genetic Dominant and Submissive Dynamics, Group Marriage, Hermaphrodites, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Multiple Partners, Non-Penetrative Sex, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Other, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Platonic BDSM, Platonic Soulmates, Proper BDSM Etiquette, Romantic Soulmates, Social Hierarchy, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:35:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5693065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeren/pseuds/Skeren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an in-depth explanation for a world where Gender is fluid, there are soulmates that are not always romantic, nor singular, there is alpha-beta-omega pack dynamics approached in a non-typical way, and being a dominant, submissive, or switch is more a genetic disposition than a sexual preference. Basically, this is an invitation for anyone interested in all these things, but with no idea how to tackle making a world out of them, to use this world for your AUs. </p><p>No seriously, even if it's not my fandom (Or it's original fiction!) I would still read it if you wrote it in this world and linked back to this guide. I hope that people find this as fun to use as I did to create it.</p><p>All tags are meant to indicate things that will be discussed, and how the society this world is set in handles them, not that any of these things will be written out graphically in any way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. World Setting

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you're reading this, it means your found it either via one of the extremely numerous tags, or you happen to be interested in my work personally in some way. In either case, thank you very much for actually opening this thing, because I have the terrible habit of trying to share my worlds. No really, I'm in the Role Play community and trying to hunt down people to play in this world is... sadly difficult. I just want to see more of this concept out there, after all. 
> 
> Many versions of all of these concepts are handled differently than I've chosen to portray here, so I will try to explain what I tend to see in fandom commonly as I understand it, as well as the differences that this world has from that, so that people can have a frame of reference if they go looking for other work of any type mentioned herein that's not set in the Abods Soul universe. I've tried to make this a fun guide instead of an overwhelming mess, and all topics to be discussed will have a header that makes them easily skippable so readers can avoid topics they find upsetting. 
> 
> I hope to see work from the community in this world, but if not, hey, thanks for reading!

** General World **

This world is one that sits in a similar technological position to our own. They have cell phones, computers, and major cities that are not unlike ones that can be found in the modern world as we know it. Of course, this is flexible, and every world has a history. For this world, they had social movements, there was prejudice, still is if one is being honest, to say nothing of countries of dubious moral standing. There were oppressed people and races. Values have changed with the times, and history is still fraught with wars and general human stupidity.

This means that this universe can be easily applied to any timeframe if someone wanted to explore the middle ages, other worlds, or even a magical setting in another culture. People are people, and while there are things very specific to _this_ world that can be used, these things will be detailed further on in this section.

** Politics, Government, and Social Ladders **

Every world has governments and this one is no different in that respect. What is different is what standard people use to determine who is, and isn't, worth being in charge. One's sex supposedly has no bearing on if one will rule, nor how well one will do in political arenas. Sadly, this works, in theory, more often than in practice. Betas will always be the sex most respected for any political work, Alphas for military work, and Omegas for domestic work. The reason for this is common expectations for each type, not unlike people expecting men or women to be a certain way in our own world, though often those perceptions might not be remotely true.

Hand in hand to this is that people are far more likely to be willing to follow Dominants than Submissives, while Switches will always be respected for their level-headed advice. The reason for this is often a matter of perceived liability and reliability. In any case, male, female, or ambiguous gender choice has absolutely nothing to do with leadership in this particular world, as it's mostly a matter of personal preference and comfort than anything attached to how one has children or one's physical needs. 

There are countries with Kings and Queens. It should be noted that one, when put in a ruler position in these countries, is _always_ a king, regardless of gender or sex. King is the proper title, and whoever marries them and provides a child is Queen. Please note that triad marriages are the norm, and the other spouse in such arrangements is also a Queen if they have a child, and is a Consort if they do not or have not. Similarly, all children are Princes, with their spouses being Princesses in the same manner as Kings and Queens. This system also applies to Emperor and Empress systems, and carries down all ranks of such hierarchies, with Lords being an inheriting title, and Ladies being their spouses. Lords can, of course, marry other Lords, though titles might become confused if there are not enough children to carry any ranks to be inherited in such a relationship.

In countries where one elects a ruler to a position such as President, their spouses are often known as the First Consort. All spouses of a President are known this way, though the term First Lady is also used, given that Lady is not related to any specific Gender or Sex in this world. If a President has two spouses, it's common for one to be known as the First Consort and the other as the First Lady. In more progressive times, there have been attempts by the media to stop using such an outdated term, since Lady often implies someone who is married for children. It has been a very slow, drawn-out battle against public opinion.

People who inherit in Capitalist situations are often the most competent at whatever the field is that they're inheriting for. It can be noted, however, that by and large, business positions are dominated by Betas, who are often the most level-headed of the sexes. For this reason, high society is weighted heavily in their direction, and will usually favor a Beta over the other two sexes when put in contention. Reputations, of course, are affected by Media as they ever are in our world, and things like charities and fundraisers are still present. The only big difference is that it's not unheard of for someone to bring two dates to such events given the prevalence of three-person marriages.

There are science communities, corporate communities, political communities, author communities, and all other manner of communities that there are in our world, and they cross just as often as in ours. 

Likewise, there are government agencies of the same magnitude and reach as our world... and are often just as involved in human lives too. For better or worse. In such agencies however, it is to be noted that Betas make up the overwhelming majority of desk positions, while Alphas and Omegas are usually field agents.

** Marriages and General Laws **

Marriage laws are some of the most complicated laws in current society. Up until the 1980s, in fact, it was unheard of for people to countenance the idea of same-sex marriages. Until that point, the only option was to marry in pairs and triads that had different sexes involved only. There are many that still find this topic highly controversial in fact, but even with the most conservative supporters trying to hang onto it, marriage is no longer confined to Alpha/Beta/Omega triads as it was in previous centuries. Groups that are larger, due to simple love or because of soulmarks, still have quite a distance to go to be recognized as marriages instead of simply family packs, however. It was the 1950s sexual revolution that made it clear that same-sex relationships in soulmates were not always platonic, after all, but that didn't open people to the idea of more than what was perceived as the natural polyamory of triads. Those with more soulmarks than the typical two or three are often the front-runners in politics to try to equal out this situation to a more reasonable number for such a pack based society. Another side effect of soulmarks on marriage is that laws have been on the books in most countries for decades, if not centuries, permitting underage parties to marry soulmates before the legal age of majority in their country. These laws seem to stay on the books by way of conservative protection and are likely to never be removed.

Divorce Law, on the other hand, means that breaking it off is a lot more complicated than going into a marriage. A person has to have a clear reason that is considered acceptable to break a marriage, and in triads, one has to have an issue with both other parties. If this has been satisfied, then people can leave a marriage, and laws have been passed that have made this process less difficult since the turn of the century than it was before. However, due to the pack nature of society, it is still a complicated, drawn-out process. The most recent law made it so that finding one's romantic soulmate is an acceptable reason, though only if one is already in a triad at the time. Further endeavors to ease this progression have been made since 2000, but conservative resistance is intense.

Custody Laws strongly favor joint custody of children between parents. The reason for this is that it is considered more harmful to break pack bonds in children unless they will come to further harm by remaining in the presence of a parent due to some form of abuse. There have been studies done on this and while offering conflicting evidence, the trend shows that children with broken parental pack bonds often have much more difficulty forming any pack bonds as adults. This is what led to why such laws are now officially on the books in modern times. In previous centuries, custody always went to the mother during a conflict, unless that parent was a known Submissive and thus couldn't care for a child alone by legal definitions.

Discrimination Laws are on the books for many things. Gender is one of them, especially since Gender has moved away from being attached to one's sex in the last two centuries, and more to one's personal preferences and outlook on society. At one point, Male was heavily associated with Alphas, and Female with Omegas. Betas were often put in the position of remaining ungendered until having children. At some point, Betas started to decide their gender after being revealed at puberty, which is a trend that has since reached to encompass most of society. Ungendered until the person in question declares otherwise is now the polite and expected approach to strangers. Presumption to apply a gender to someone in any official forum can lead to libel lawsuits if one is touchy enough about such matters. Other Discrimination laws mean that Alphas, Betas, and Omegas cannot be kept from their preferred jobs due to sex, though the legality of this is still unresolved in many countries, and others still outright disregard it. There are still many fights in law offices over putting Discrimination Laws on the books for Dominants and Submissives, but these are taking longer to gain traction due to the nature of the system, and all such laws are not in favor of Submissives.

Assault Laws are a very unique thing in this society. Wars have started over such things, and a particularly vicious one started in the 1700's over a mistreated Omega was the one what set off the movement of being much more firm about reactions to these situations. In modern times, all accusations, be they physical or sexual in nature, are regarded with seriousness and investigated as soon as they come to light. While the turn of the century has negated the common use of the death penalty in most instances of this nature, harsh fines and jail time are still the norms if it's proven that there was an unprovoked attack of some form. It is to be noted that the severity and nature of the attack plays a large part in how the situation will be handled once it reaches the stage of charges being pressed. Attacking someone for threatening a loved one, for instance, is looked on more kindly than simply attacking someone because they offended you. Sexual assaults have a much more broad spectrum of legal issues attached and will be explained further in the Sex and Proclivity sections of this guide.

Consent Laws are different from country to country, with some rare countries setting the bar as low as thirteen even into modern times. Sixteen is widely accepted as the age of sexual consent, though it is to be noted that sexual intercourse with anyone under the legal adult age of their country, while they are in a heat or rut state, is considered Assault, even if both parties are in a relationship beforehand. Other sexual contact is permitted in these circumstances, with permission, but is not to cross this line due to the fact that the risk of children being conceived is heightened dramatically in these circumstances. The only exceptions are if both parties are in this age bracket together, or they are legally married. It's considered cruelty to force a child on someone who is unprepared for such a situation or is too young to do so safely, which is why it's treated so harshly. These sorts of situations make up the vast majority of children being given up to adoption when death is not a factor.

Adoption Law is something with very careful rules. Almost always, a person must have some sort of established pack, be it spouses or at least two other people with which they have at least weekly contact with. Someone without any kind of pack structure cannot adopt, as it is considered unhealthy for a child to be put into such an environment outside extenuating circumstances. Anyone may put a child up for adoption, but it is highly encouraged that in such a situation, the previous parent either stay in contact consistently or cut off contact entirely since something less solid than these options is deemed damaging to pack instincts. 

Inheritance Laws always favor what is left in a will. In situations where titles are to be inherited and no will was left to outline a successor, it's usually up to a family charter. This is the only time when sex is a factor in inheritance, as most other circumstances simply bequeath everything to the eldest or nearest relation in such circumstances. Soulmates will _always_ be considered one's closest relations, over parents and children, unless a will specifies otherwise.

** World History **

This world, as noted at the top, is very like ours in structure. While this is true, and the world has evolved to be much like ours, the point at which they started is very different than our own. The calendar appears the same, superficially, because people took great relish in re-establishing themselves once they came back into contact with things like moon cycles and seasons. The current calendar starts when people started living on the surface of the planet again. By the same token, certain fields of study, such as hydroponics and geology, are far more advanced in this world than our own as a matter of need due to an extended period underground.

At one point, this world _was_ like ours, with men and women and different standards for life and that is where the history will start. People became ambitious, and they fought. As politics are wont to do, people pressed and pressed the boundaries of what could be done until there was no further they could go without destroying themselves. And then, they stopped. It was not quite a cold war, but it wasn't far from it either. 

And then the sky fell. 

That's the only way any historical documents describe it. The sky fell. No one is sure if it was something from outside the planet, or if it was someone getting trigger happy, but everything changed. Nuclear weapons were set off across the planet, and the seas froze over. It was, truly, a shock that humanity survived at all. Driven underground, where a segment of humanity to this day remains though are now considered myths and legends, people had to learn to change, to survive without everything they'd grown used to. It was a harsh teacher, this situation, and the oceans freezing alone made the world a very different place for nearly a millennia.

There was, of course, a great deal of death, as the radiation affected most of the populace, rendering half of those who didn't die entirely sterile. Women were hit harder than men, at first, and systems came into effect for keeping track of lineages with frightening intensity. Inbreeding was a constant fear among those aware of the side effects. Those people who still had fertility ended up being just as prized as those with the technical understanding to keep people alive underground, away from the surface radiation and darkness. That these people ended up passing on mutations from the radiation, at times, didn't stop them from being prized. In fact, sometimes it was seen as a safeguard against the ill effects of having relations too close to existing family.

Ultimately, it was the mutations that saved humanity from extinction. It took time, of course, centuries even, but hermaphrodites started to emerge, becoming more and more prevalent within the span of three generations. With them, came instinctive drives to keep them safe, and the more fertile people were, of course, the better. 

Pack mentality had emerged in the crisis, reinforced as those who couldn't do it died off without having kids. That was first, in the decades following the freeze. Then hermaphrodites happened and became more and more intermingled. The mutation was encouraged to be more and more frequent in genetic lines until, in time, even if people weren't actively both genders, they still presented as such. This was the start of the current system, and this visible representation started the game of 'what sex are you really' that persists into the modern day when puberty is the only true indicator of what a child will be.

Most people don't realize, in modern times, that the age before everything, that timeframe people consider to be legend and mythology more than a documentable era, is where the concept of gender as it's known even came from. He and she, lords and ladies, kings and queens, these concepts of duality were all from Before. Language changed, circled back around to what we have now, and technology collapsed on itself, then flourished in other ways, just to start over. In that cycle, these things weren't lost, even if so much else was.

The process of change took a very, very long time, and the face of the world itself left country borders very different from what they were before people emerged back into the sunshine a millennia after leaving it. Humanity emerged, and technology came back around, but the return to the surface was hard on those who made it, which set off something of a dark era. This is where history books pick up, as humans learned to survive all over again in the world, with a new baseline and little of what had once been a rather advanced state of technology. 

And this new baseline, new humanity, is what this guide is all about.


	2. Sex - Or the Chapter about Alpha/Beta/Omega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this section there will be detailing about sexual assault, though the header will be clearly marked, and the distinct differences between the sexes will be outlined, as well as the social perceptions therein. I will also do my best to give an overview, hopefully not too long, on the most common ways this trope is handled in what I've seen, as well as to explain why I'm not doing it that way.

****

  


The Stereotype

  


Most people who are familiar with Alpha/Beta/Omega anything are used to a very specific stereotype. Often, this comes off as kind of rapey, kind of gross, and overall not fun for the reader. Many times a character has to have a complete personality transplant to make it work, which is never fun for anyone. I've personally felt that it should never be handled that way because there's no reason _to_ handle it so clumsily, but then, I'm also giving the community my personal playground about it so that probably makes sense.

The trope doesn't often take into account how wolf packs, which is what the original concept came from, handle such things. Also unfortunate is the great disparity between men and women in these worlds much of the time, with men being the only ones to actually present anything like the trope in question. The stereotype is that Alphas cannot resist Omegas in heat, and that Omegas in heat are mindlessly needy of sex. That is the long and short of it, and while that is not always the way of things, and I have in fact read many excellent variations where there are legal repercussions and control, I have also seen the other side, where that is all lacking, and either Alphas or Omegas are basically chattel. Bonding in these universes is usually a mess, with biting and blood and irreversible side effects instead of emotional connection. That varies wildly by author, admittedly.

Please note that in the most basic trope Betas are often not a thing. Betas get ignored a great deal in the Stereotype of this trope, because they neither go into heat nor rut, essentially. They're often portrayed as the sexless characters in such an environment. Alternately, they go both ways. It depends on the author, and a reader should brace themselves to run into all of this when they go looking for ABO anything. This particular trope is _very_ heavy on the sex.

But please, don't be discouraged! I've personally read many amazing fics with this concept, so they're out there, in a mature, non-rapey way. You just have to know what to keep an eye out for. All of the concepts I'll outline below I picked in pieces from various fics I've read over the years, as well as a few details I personally felt were awesome. The good ones are out there. 

Promise.

****

  


What This World Does

  


In this world, Alpha, Beta, and Omega are sexes, nothing more or less. There are chemical and physical differences between the sexes, of course, which will be outlined next, but society has formed around them, much as ours has formed around the concept of male and female. This world does not have men nor women. All sexes have the same external presentation of a penis and behind that an opening into the body. The shape and size of these varies from person to person, of course, and the mechanics of each sex will be outlined in their part, but the notation of what they have in common needed to go here.

Things like heats and ruts still exist, but are handled differently from the primary trope. Betas are not sexless automatons, while the other sexes are not mindless sex beasts. They're people, and just like any other people, mindset, personal preference, and physical health affect what biology does to someone more than just their sex all by itself. This world isn't about all sex all the time. It's about relationships, families, and pack structures that the instincts matching up to the sexes caused in their formation. While still not a wolf structure, it's also not the trope, and this will be outlined more clearly after the sexes are explained. 

All the sexes can immediately tell what sex someone else is if they have passed puberty and get close enough to smell them properly. Assuming, of course, they know what a particular sex smells like. If someone has never met a Beta in their life, then it might make sense if the new scent confuses them, for instance. Some people wear scents or use soaps to confuse the issue, but unless someone is in the middle of a spy operation or something likewise dangerous, it is often considered rude to use products of this kind. Covering your scent entirely is preferable to making it unclear as to what sex a person is, and is more widely accepted.

Sexes and their resultant hormones are, by and large, mostly things that affect the body itself and not the physical mindset in this world. They are what affect arousal, need, and things of that nature. If they are not tended to, they can, of course, cause severe health issues that might lead to mental interference as well, but most mentally affecting hormones are normally caused by Proclivities, which will be detailed in the next section.

****

  


Alphas

  


Alphas are the protectors and providers of the triad of the sexes. This initially came about because Alphas didn't need to stick around to make sure that children made it through a pregnancy, and were more useful on the move. Basically, they were more mobile, so they were expected to go out and use it. Added to this is that this sex is the only one of the three that doesn't have a heat cycle of any kind, so they were less vulnerable than the other two sexes to being preyed upon through weakness when interacting with any kind of predator.

While unable to bear children, all sperm carrying parts are still tucked inside the body. With the onset of puberty, an Alpha's body will only mature the anatomy that allows for sperm production, leaving no space for carrying a child and flushing all eggs, which were never viable anyway, from the body over the course of a year while maturing. Testosterone will peak, and musculature will usually get more solid. Body hair depends on the lineage of the Alpha, though is far more common with them than the other sexes due to their hormones. Things such as breasts are extremely unlikely, though not impossible, and the vaginal opening to the body can and does still produce a level of slickness when aroused as a lingering function of the previously viable internal organs. 

Alphas have the second best sense of smell of the three sexes. Due to this, they can't detect the most subtle nuances of mood the way Omegas can, but they can still pick up an illness or other dramatic health shifts in their mates and pack members. The downside to this is that they're also the most sensitive to scents like blood, and are prone to going into a highly protective state when confronted with too much of it around their loved ones, especially in a dangerous situation. This is not uncommon for the other sexes, but is less dramatic, as their protective instincts tend to be differently aimed and do not as intensely lean toward violence when roused.

Ruts have been mentioned more than once, and are, unfortunately, unpredictable. A rut is caused by an Alpha not taking care of themselves as well as avoiding building a pack around themselves. Alphas are the most sensitive of the three sexes to the hormones of others, and a lack of consistent attention and contact with other people will often destabilize their own internal hormone situation. A rut is the body of an Alpha essentially going into distress and trying to acquire a mate or pack member for the Alpha by way of sexual need that they cannot control. Often, a rut is accompanied by full body weakness, painful levels of arousal, and an inability to focus. Shakes are also not unheard of, and unlike a heat, the only way to stop a rut is to have some form of sexual contact to trigger the body into something of a reset from an outside source. It should be noted that very few Alphas end up in this situation, as most either have their parent families, close coworkers, or even neighbors to keep them grounded should they not have a pack of their own to care for. Isolation in a Jail situation is not permitted for Alphas because of this, but history has shown some people to use this against Alphas in horrific ways. 

The need to be a provider is directly related to the instinctive desire to avoid going into a rut. If an Alpha has enough of something to provide for and keep others interested, be they Alpha, Beta, or Omega, then the instinct is appeased. This, of course, has led to some truly strange collections throughout history as an Alpha has channeled this instinct into something unusual in some way. The biggest collection of yarn in the world, for instance, belongs to a particularly determined Alpha. This drive has also led to some of the most beautiful art collections and artwork in the world, to say nothing of the more prolific Alpha authors. The artistic fields are somewhat heavier in Alphas than many others, likely due to the instinct to find an exceptional niche to satisfy the need to provide and interest.

Because of their protective drives, Alphas are also extremely prevalent in combat situations and occupations. The military is known to always welcome Alphas through their doors as this is an easy pack solution for Alphas who have no one else, and occupations like Firefighters and police are often in the same position.

Due to these inclinations, Alphas who have a very low drive to do or protect are often overlooked and run counter to the common stereotype society encourages. 

****

  


Omegas

  


Omegas are the caretakers and homemakers of the triad of the sexes. The reason this happened is that they are the least mobile gender. An Omega builds the home, because the Omega bears the children, and thus is simply not able to go out and roam about as easily as the other two sexes. Having the most intense heat cycle of the sexes means that they're the most often vulnerable, so they adapted to be able to use their abilities while unable to travel.

Only able to bear children and father none, the biology of an Omega is the exact opposite of an Alpha. Instead of flushing the eggs during the onset of puberty, an Omega's body will shift the position of them to something more optimal, while essentially leaving no room for sperm producing parts of the body. Things such as ejaculate and precome still work and function for Omegas in a manner akin to a man who has had a vasectomy, but overall, an Omega's penis is liable to be much smaller than that of an Alpha, and the chance of breasts is far higher. It should be noted that it is not guaranteed that an Omega will have breasts, nor that they will avoid having facial hair. Omegas also run heavily towards high estrogen production.

Omegas have the best sense of smell of the three sexes. Omegas can be uncanny in their ability to scent emotion once they know a person well enough, and are typically the first to pick up on illness or if food has gone bad somewhere in the fridge. Because of how intense the sensitivity can be, Omegas can sometimes tell _how_ someone is ill instead of simply if they are, given the proper training to do so. Another side effect of this is that Omegas are usually the first ones to know if there is some kind of problem, and learn quickly how to block out their sense of smell if overwhelmed. This leads to some Omegas seeming incredibly oblivious because of their extreme sensitivity.

Their ability to read moods means that Omegas often become the center of a pack and the peacemakers that keep their pack from turning to infighting over misunderstandings. The flip side of this is that Omegas will always be the best at reading others and, consequently, make the best spies and political sharks due to their skill with manipulating those around them. This is part of why Omegas have never been well loved in political circles. Most Omegas have turned these inclinations toward medical and psychiatric care, and the professions are heavy with this sex because of it. They also tend to make exceptionally sharp parents to children, and are often the disciplinarian in a household. Any Omegas who go into the military are usually a terrifying sight to behold because they take this mindset into combat, using observational skills above the norm to protect others and attack before they can be seen.

The heats of an Omega are often intense, regular, and extremely fertile. Because of this, there are many widely recognized ways of handling and easing the situation so that an Omega won't find themselves in too much pain during their cycle. Omegas are most commonly likely to run on a cycle of a few days a month, or a week every two months, but there are some who only have a heat once a year or less, depending on their state of health. It should be noted that the further apart a heat is, usually the more intense or lengthy it will be. There are drugs to suppress heats, but they're widely regarded as something to be taken with care, as when off of them after extended use it's possible to have broken your cycle to something unpredictable.

Common methods of soothing heats without risk of children is to use toys, hormone-laced lubrication when touching oneself, hormone-laced condoms, intercourse with another Omega, having an Alpha sit in the room with minimal contact, and more extended contact with an Alpha without clothes coming off of them. It's to be noted that intercourse tends to make a heat ease off the most quickly, and intercourse with an Alpha is known to cut a heat nearly in half, though the risk of children heightens dramatically if one makes any mistakes with contraceptives. One can also wait out a heat with no sexual contact of any kind, though this will usually be extremely uncomfortable as all heats come with something like an intense, but not dangerous, fever.

****

  


Betas

  


Betas are the organizers and trackers of the sex triad. Known as such because of their level disposition, they're the ones who are able to pick up the slack when the other sexes falter and keep going since their biology is making softer demands of them. 

They can take care of children with the same ease as they can organize a war, and are often in charge of keeping track of events, people, dates, and many other things that might get overlooked in the day to day strata of heats and work. They're also typically the best at not getting lost in the details and seeing the bigger picture when it's presented, which is part of what makes them so prized in business circles. Because of these talents, administration is often loaded with Betas in any realm where paperwork might be involved, and are best trusted in politics to be honest with their subjects and notice things that opponents of the other sexes will miss. 

Able to both father and bear children, Betas are less fertile at both than Omegas and Alphas since their internal organs are taking up half as much space each as the other sexes. Due to this, fathering a child even on an Omega is not a guaranteed thing, and on another Beta adds an additional layer of difficulty. Beta heats are often short and light, hardly debilitating as an Omega's is. Unfortunately for those trying to conceive, heats barely boost fertility for a Beta, meaning that most pregnancies that involve a Beta are more luck than timing. Their hormones also mean they're almost a perfectly even mix of Testosterone and Estrogen, and their appearance is often just as ambiguous.

Having the worst sense of smell is a blessing for Betas, and is useful for occupations where it is a liability. Due to this, Betas are more likely to read bodies for cues than scents and are unlikely to catch if someone gets ill without seeing the signs. It also means that they're unlikely to be triggered off by the scents of those around them being in heat in any adverse way, though notice is largely unavoidable if they're paying even marginal attention. 

It should be noted that the level disposition and hormone stability of Betas tend to make them highly sought after in most social circles, and social butterfly behavior among them is not uncommon.

****

  


Pack Dynamics

  


Packs are an extremely important part of society in this world. All packs are led by one pair or triad that the others are varying levels of subservient to or reliant on. In a typical household, the leading pair is the parenting unit, and the subservient group is their children. In business, this is usually settled by who is the boss of who, and who wields their authority. In casual neighbor packs, it's usually whoever sets up gatherings in a complex who ends up being seen instinctively as the most important, or central, member of the pack. 

Most people are part of several different packs in their lives with varying degrees of intimacy. As made clear above, none of those groups are particularly intimate, or large, depending on which you're looking at. Most people develop a different pack than these kinds, and those are the friend and family packs. Usually, a group of friends will have someone, or a set of someones, who initiates and cares for the other members most thoroughly. This might be an Alpha, Omega, _or_ a Beta. It needn't be clearly one or the other of them. Of course, the most durable packs are those with a leading unit to care for the pack they've built. Packs with a core triad are the strongest, usually with the Alpha making sure all funds and security are covered, while the Omega deals with disputes and making sure everyone is healthy, leaving with the Beta making sure that engagements are kept and no one gets left out on accident. This is not how it always goes, even with a triad of the traditional three, but usually, the unit will cover any blind spots left in the other two to care for their mutual group.

In larger family packs, one Alpha will usually end up in charge of everyone, other Alphas included, and their corresponding Omega and Beta partners will fall into these roles. Of course, sometimes it's the reverse, with the Beta or Omega ending up in charge, but that often comes down to proclivities more than sex at that point. It should be noted that it is exceedingly uncommon for there to be fights for position within a pack, though arguments do often shuffle the order from time to time. Usually, anything dramatic of this nature comes on the heels of someone bad for a group ending up in charge of a pack somehow, and people trying to oust them from the family for their own welfare.

Pack bonding often involves extended touching and contact, mingling scents until they're as familiar as your own and as easily found. One can always tell the intimacy of a pack by how much they smell like one another, and in combat situations, it's not unheard of for a pack member to smear their blood on someone else once the danger has passed to reinforce their claim on them and reassure them of safety. It's a practice with much controversy in modern times, but is still considered a great comfort by those who have seen live combat with their comrades. There is nothing particularly metaphysical about pack bonding in this world, simply the strength of the bonds having a psychological release that means that certain instincts are triggered more easily in the presence of one's intimate pack than without it.

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The Best Known Sexual and Drug Related Abuses

  


As mentioned above, Alphas are the best-known victims of predation in history. War prisoners during the second world war, when caught and Alpha, were usually locked up with a limited ration of water and waited out until they'd go into a rut before a 'sympathetic' enemy would be sent in to handle them. The process would be repeated until the imprinting on that specific person was secure enough that the war prisoner would talk just to avoid being separated from the only person keeping them from going insane. Usually, once a cycle like this was started, the speed at which ruts could be triggered would increase with each subsequent cycle. The Second World War is what brought this practice into light as something to be guarded against.

Omega heats are a time of vulnerability, but at least the Omega can keep their heads. They're fully aware of everything going on, and any uninvited assaults during this time are unlikely to go unremarked or retaliated against. Even then, some people still hold the belief that there will be no retaliation and try anyway, meaning that sexual predators are still an unfortunate facet of life. One dramatic change is that such profiles are often not Sex or gender related, but often attributed to pack status. Because of this, those who have no pack are often viewed with suspicion lest they go 'feral' and hurt someone. It should be noted that such a thing, outside ruts, does not actually exist in the way society pretends it does.

Laws for Rape are incredibly stringent and date back to the years when attacking someone usually would draw out both their family and their current packs. In recent years, such a thing is usually a smaller number, but in older times, that could be enough to start a war between provinces, if not countries, depending on the status of the attacked and that of the accused. In modern times, such people are usually jailed in psychiatric facilities without the freedoms of normal jail instead of being killed as used to be the way, but lesser assault, such as simply touching instead of full-on sex, is usually treated as a lesser crime outside of instances with repeated offenses. Anyone who assaults someone who has yet to present a sex will always be levied with the most extreme level of punishment. Age is not important in this distinction, just physical maturity.

Drugs are known to cause issues even on a good day, but there are people who try to repress their children forming a sex, or try to force their children to be a specific sex when they hit puberty. Both of these situations have disastrous side effects. Repressing can lead to a child going sterile entirely by the time they're fully grown, leaving them in a state both like, and unlike, a Beta as their internal sexual organs will simply never develop at all and their body will retain a prepubescent state. Hormone therapy can reverse the damage to a degree, but damages will always occur. Using hormones to try to influence a sex leads to entirely other problems. If the drugs line up with the sex they're going to be anyway, they could drive a young teen into ruts or erratic and severe heats that present as ruts. If the drugs are opposite their sex, then the child is liable to end up in extreme pain as their body tries to do too many things at once, leading to outward growth in the direction of the drugs, while internally their body is trying to do otherwise. The chance of this causing sterility is also not small. It should be noted that betas in this situation often suffer the worst, as they end up in a heated state and extreme pain.

Drugs when used on adults are often a whole other matter. While much safer, since the body has matured, people have used drugs to try to heighten the ability to get pregnant by loading their partners on whatever hormone they think will make the conception of a child more likely. When handled carefully, this can, indeed, help. Usually, however, this is inflicted on Betas, and leads to health problems that in some Betas have driven them to extremes as the hormones changed their bodies in ways they didn't agree with. It should be noted that when used properly, these drugs are perfectly viable options for adults. This section is a caution about misuses within this world of such things. When used in conjunction with other drugs and surgery, history has recorded instances of disturbingly effective subservient results with these procedures to make 'perfect mates' that modern times have done their level best to stamp out. Due to the high risks of abuse, hormone-based drugs are often prescription only.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Next chapter will cover Proclivities, aka how the hell BDSM fits into this world.


	3. Proclivity - Or the chapter about BDSM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will give a quick explanation about real BDSM in our world, as well as touching on the trope that got this added into the universe in the first place. That's because I believe nowhere near enough people have an understanding of the basics of what BDSM actually is, and it's always better to know what you're changing before you actually do it. There will, again, be negative things in this chapter, but these are all confined to the last section of the chapter.
> 
> Forward!

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Real World BDSM

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First up, I'm not going to get deep into this one because this is not what this chapter is about really. What I will say is that BDSM, when approached properly, will always have communication. Respecting boundaries, loving one another, and neither of you being afraid to speak up? That's the most healthy version of this as you can find.

As for the initials themselves. BDSM can break into three parts. BD- Bondage and Discipline. This is where restraints and the like come in and are well popularized. SM- Sadism and Masochism. Some people like receiving pain, feel soothed by it in some way, or even maybe just want it. Other people like to provide these things. There is _nothing wrong_ with people who want either side of this as long as people are taking care of each other when they're doing it and being _safe_. And lastly, DS- Dominance and Submission, which is the part that inspired the trope that's going into this universe. It's all about being able to trust someone else to take care of you, on the submissive's side, and providing care and for the needs that should be addressed, for the dominant. These needs can touch on any number of things but ultimately, it comes down to what people need.

BDSM can be completely platonic. There doesn't need to be sex, and it does not need to have any sexual connotations even if the parties might become aroused. It's about trust, and a sort of freedom over one's self and one's choices, or giving that freedom to someone else. Nothing more or less. It's not about stealing control from someone else, and boundaries and discussion are a big deal. Many people have safe words, even for things like conversation, and there is nothing bad about this. Sometimes, having that security can go a long way into furthering trust between people.

There are headspaces that come with this, both for the dominant and the submissive of any pair, and it should be noted that _both_ come with a drop out of the headspace, and both sides need aftercare. Not taking care of one's partner when you're finished can really hurt someone, even if it's not a physical kind of pain. Often, from what I've seen, dominants are largely soothed by doing aftercare for their submissives. This is not always true though, and I am definitely not speaking for even close to everyone, so look into that and watch out for each other if you get into this stuff.

There is a lot more about this, but as I said, I don't intend to dig deep into the real world stuff. If people have questions, I can see about explaining real-world stuff further or find information for people to look over, no problem, just let me know. For now, I'll be moving on.

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Fictional BDSM

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So many people come at this with an angle that saddens and perplexes me that I sometimes am bewildered by it. Before I start, allow me to say that for every terribly done representation, there is one that is just as good. For every fic that dresses torture up as BDSM on accident, there is one that is perfectly honest that that is exactly what they're doing. There are stories out there that use BDSM as a breaking mechanism by doing it wrong on purpose, only for some other character to come in and do it right and fix things. I've seen it demonized and I've seen it used as a cover for abuse both intentionally and accidentally.

I will say this right now. In fiction, so long as it remains fiction, these are all valid for writing. So long as people admit and understand that this is not how it should work in reality. People are terrible. People do bad things. People hurt each other. That's what fiction is _for_. Take it out in the written word, but do your research and know what you're doing when you do it. I've seen it written in healthy, realistic ways, and it's awesome when people do. I've seen a lot, and read a lot. Just be aware, and keep an open mind. There's nothing wrong with enjoying reading it or writing it deliberately dark or unhealthy, as long as you know that's what you're doing. I'm not going to get deeper into this here either, but again, if you have questions, I'm open to them.

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The Dominant/Submissive Trope

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And now we're at the meat of this chapter! The trope, as it was as I found it, is both fascinating and somewhat appalling. People usually muddle it with ABO without actually applying ABO to it, I've found, while others use it to throw around metaphysical bonding and other things of that nature. In other words, expect a lot of other spoons in your pot when you go looking for this one because it's unlikely you'll actually dodge them in the first place.

Used often for sexy stories, this trope takes the Ds aspects of BDSM and applies them incredibly vigorously. Usually, in these stories, Submissives have no control over their ability to self-regulate falling into a submissive headspace, and dominants are unable to resist the lure of such situations and are incredibly possessive. Switches, those who go both ways, are somewhat of a rarity and are often the last resort characters under this trope. There is a lot of non-con dressed up as dub-con (which admittedly isn't always better) under this trope, mostly because nothing seems to ever be discussed before emergency situations come up and something must be done. 

That is not to say that's all I've run into! I've just seen a lot more of that than what I've picked out as the parts I've liked and turn into an addition to this Universe, that's all. Fair warning about what you're getting into if you go looking and all that. 

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What This World Does

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Every person has what this world calls a Proclivity. The reason that this word is the one used is that for a long time, people believed that you could pick which one you were, if you were Dominant, Submissive, or a Switch, even though that's not true here. In this world, it's all down to hormones and chemical production in the brain. Switches are those people who don't really need to dip into either Dominant or Submissive activity, but can if they want or need to for someone else, because their brain chemistry is level and stable without it, unlike the other two. 

It is not possible to tell if someone is Dominant, Submissive, or a Switch just by scenting them as it is for ABO status. It's a demeanor, and only research in the last few decades has brought to light just how deeply it's hardwired into the populace of this world. A lot of people have gotten into trouble in this world through history because of their proclivity, and not knowing how to act as people expected them to, to say nothing of what happened if they were in an unanticipated mental fall. It wasn't until the field of psychiatry really took off in the early 1900s that people understood the chemistry involved and properly started to support those who needed the help. 

Where ABO hormones affect the body, and only in very strained circumstances affect the mind, Ds hormones largely affect the mind, and only when left untended affect the body in turn.

It should be noted that Proclivities are not remotely tied to one's sex. You can have Submissive Alphas and Dominant Omegas, Switch Omegas and Dominant Betas, Submissive Betas and Dominant Alphas, as well as pretty much any other combination left to make.

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Switches

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As stated above, Switches are considered the stable proclivity of the three. Often Betas, which speculation says has to do with their even body chemistry working well with the mind, in turn, that's hardly always the case. Unlike Dominants and Submissives, most Switches don't need to go into dominant or submissive headspaces to keep their chemical balance safe and healthy, though they're still perfectly capable of taking other people into them. In fact, many switches still willingly allow themselves to be coaxed into these headspaces, though they're always much less intense than it would be for either other Proclivity unless there is some sort of extenuating influence involved. 

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Dominants

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Dominants often desperately need someone to care for. It doesn't matter if one is a Soft Dominant (only needs a little every once in a while) or a Hard Dominant (needs someone around nearly constantly), every Dominant runs the risk of turning aggressive and possessively clingy if they don't have any chances to slip into their Dominant headspace on at least something of a regular basis. Less vulnerable than Submissives by a large stretch, Dominants have the unfortunate tendency to become violent and unable to focus if they go too long without taking care of themselves in this fashion. They might become irrational, paranoid, or otherwise dangerous to be around, and it is unfortunately difficult to reverse safely after a Dominant has reached a certain point in this process. Usually, people have to intervene with drugs, as any critique or advice given to a Dominant in such a heightened state of hyper-awareness is usually taken as confrontation.

When a Dominant is in a state where they can actually go into their headspace, it's usually very clear after, as they're often much more in tune with their surroundings, being calmer and more relaxed in the wake of having given that part of themselves attention. They're also very liable to be more protective of their partners for a while, as something of a self-soothing gesture for any raw emotions of their own as well as an extension of their need to care for the other. It should be noted that some Dominants satisfy their needs through things as simple as feeding others, brushing hair, and other similar domestic bonding activities. Other Dominants need to have absolute and total control for a while, so discussion with one's partner is vital since while not sexual, these needs can still be rather intense on whoever is receiving them.

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Submissives

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The most vulnerable of all the groups, Submissives are those who on going into their headspace, just want to please and be cared for. Soft Submissives are usually fine with a shallower, softer experience when it comes to this, being taken down every now and again, maybe just sitting by the feet of their dominant and having their head petted for a while, something small. Hard Submissives, on the other hand, can tip all the way to the other end of the spectrum and need to have all their choices made for them, have their world ordered around them by the arrangement of whatever more Dominant people happen to be in their lives. It should be noted that it's not unheard of for Soft Submissives to take care of Hard Submissives, given that when one is not in this headspace they're still ultimately themselves.

If a Submissive doesn't get themselves into their headspace as often as they need, they run the increasing risk of falling into it without control. For those who need it less, the risk is rather low, but for those who need more, it grows exponentially the longer one is left uncared for. In this headspace, if brought about in an uncontrolled way, the world can be frightening, and the idea of being unable to please the people around them can easily leave a Submissive a terrified wreck crying on the floor. Touch is a heightened sense in this space, either negative or positive, and the deeper a Submissive tends to go, the more intense the reactions. It is always _always_ safer for Submissives of this world (and ours if we're being honest) to be taken down and back up in a controlled way instead of this freefall of jarring emotions. Taken down intentionally or not, after coming back out, Submissives are liable to feel scraped raw, emotionally, and should be watched until it's clear that all is well and there's no risk of further emotional upset.

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Terrible Things People Shouldn't Do and Do anyway

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Because of the stigma of being a Submissive, it's not uncommon for people to use drugs to repress their natural Proclivity. This can be dangerous because if the drugs aren't taken for a time after extended use, they can send a Submissive into a free fall they might not be able to claw their way out of without a lot of help. Dominants, on the other hand, after use of such drugs, have been known to go into blind fits of rage before coming back to themselves, which has resulted in more than one tragic accident. Neither instance is particularly safe, but many people seem to believe that the reprieve is worth the risk, and they're not highly regulated drugs.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the drugs that _are_ highly regulated. Those are the ones that can force someone into their headspace, Dominant or Submissive, and lock them into it. People are more liable to do this to Submissives, because the lengths they'll go through to please are usually much more extreme, and depending on the person even useful, but Dominants are at risk in their headspace as well, and it's still a practice in some places to force a Dominant into that place before sending them to battle. The reasoning for this is said to be that it made them better commanders, though the fallout and instances of PTSD episodes in these studies skyrocketed from the normal baseline, and complete meltdowns once off the field aren't unheard of. Both have been used as forms of torture throughout history, even before it was proven they existed officially. They've also been used for brainwashing, with high success rates.

Submissives often don't have the ability to say no if they've been taken down deep enough. This is something that's been contended in court many times in this world, but the point stands that all such things must be agreed on beforehand or it's rape, flat out, because it was not discussed while uninfluenced. One needn't have sex or sexual relations when in their headspace to satisfy it, and more than one person in this world has been lied to about that through history by people they knew so as to take advantage of them. 

These states, when combined with vulnerabilities of being an Alpha or Omega, have been used to devastating effect in this world, though such actions are thankfully nothing close to mainstream behavior. A character in a typical part of the world would probably not even know about most of this, save warnings to Submissives to take care of themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part is how Soulmates work in this universe!


	4. Soulmates! But not your typical ones!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmates are a trope that spans far and wide in mythology and fandom. I, of course, have my own take on how all that works. And that they're not always happily ever afters.

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The Trope

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Every person has seen something with Soulmates in it. It was a book, a fable, a movie, a movie _preview_ , a fanfic, or even just a picture. The point stands that soulmates are a pervasive part of literature and art, and there's no denying that there have been dozens of ways to approach the topic. It's also fair to say that in the vast majority of things that people have seen, the concept of soulmates usually gets turned into 'One true love that's perfect for someone forever and ever'. The Trope reflects that, though thankfully not every author uses this particular interpretation. Still, if you go looking, romance will overwhelmingly be your result.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. After all, people like love. People like romance and happy endings. We'll get into other results a little later on though.

As for ways Soulmates are presented... well, how about I give you a list of the various methods of identifying a soulmate that I've seen, shall I? Please note I've seen several of these combined too.

 **First Words** : When a soulmate is either born with, acquires on the birth of their soulmate, or is branded with upon hearing them, the first words ever spoken directly to them by their soulmate. Suffice it to say, people who live their entire life with 'hi' in these situations usually come up with deeply random responses to try to single out their other half. I've also seen the reverse of this one where the words are the _last_ words ever spoken, which is entirely depressing if you think about it.

 **Names:** Again, I've seen this as born with, acquires at the birth of partner, and even 'changes colors on meeting' and is about what it says on the tin. You're branded with the name of your soulmate somewhere. Usually in their handwriting. 

**String of Fate:** You are tied to another person by some sort of metaphysical string. I've seen this as manifested on accident because magic, they appear on a certain kind of contact, and people just always having them visible and intangible. This is the one most people see in art, and the thread is nearly always red.

 **Timers:** Like it says on the tin. Someone has a timer counting down to the time you meet their soulmate, though if it's natural or artificial varies.

 **Meeting Them Changes You:** Examples of this are eye colors changing, wings (in stories that have them) changing color, the world suddenly having color from being black and white, suddenly having emotions after not having them before, etc. The list goes on, and people have done some deeply creative things with these.

 **Mental Bonds:** Either existing from birth or only springing up when you meet a person, it's about what it says on the tin. You have a mental connection to this other person that you don't get to get rid of.

 **Relayed marks:** This could either be 'when I write on myself my soulmate sees it' in some fashion, or someone getting some echo of an injury, if not the injury itself, from their soulmate. I've seen some fascinating things done with both variations.

 **Marks:** These are usually pictures, and much like words and names, can be there from their birth, the birth of the partner, appear when two people meet, or change color on contact. They're pictures that in some variations match, and in others are representative in some way of a specific person only. This one is the one that will be expanded and used for this world.

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Soulmarks

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In this world, Soulmarks are pictures, matching sets between two people that are symbols and shapes with different colors that range from solid black all the way over into extreme rainbows. The placement and size of these marks can vary even between partners, though the color and pattern will always match. There is also a heady sense of familiarity in the scent of one's soulmate that means even on first meeting them, be it in a crowded room or alone, that person's scent will be clear to their soulmate, as well as recognizable.

Soulmarks cannot be removed without taking off the body part they're attached to! This means that you can hurt someone badly, burn away or cut away a mark, and it will just reappear over the scar tissue. However, if the mark is on a hand, and someone loses the hand, that mark is gone, and will not reappear because there is nowhere for it to reappear on. It's morbid, true, but Soul Marks are somewhat metaphysical and no one knows how they work, just that they do. There are, of course, branches of study entirely devoted to soul marks.

Soulmarks always appear with the birth of the younger party! Please note that in the very rare instances when three people are mutual soulmates, there will only be _one_ mark shared between them, that will appear with the birth of the youngest member. More than three people sharing a mark is nearly unheard of, though not impossible, and there have been instances of one person having multiple instances of shared marks on their person. It should be noted that there is no real indication of when a mark is for more than two, and such things are usually stumbled over accidentally. 

Marks do not disappear when one of the members carrying the mark dies, and it is not a guarantee that you will ever meet them, just that they at some point lived. Because of this, in modern times, there are vast directories where people can post pictures of their marks to help find their mates since the only risk is that on meeting it won't be your mate. Falsifying the feeling of familiarity in a soulmate's scent is something that people have been trying to figure out for a long time, but thus far, there are no documented cases of it happening, thus rendering such meetups safer for those in high profile positions.

The normal number of marks for a person to have on their person in their life is either two or three, usually popping up somewhere before someone is in their twenties. It is rarer, but not unheard of, for someone to only have one, though someone never getting a soulmark in their life is exceedingly rare. Also, someone having more than three while not unheard of, gets rarer the higher the number goes. The largest number of soulmarks on documented record is fourteen, of which the person in question only ever met two before dying in their forties shortly after the emergence of the last mark.

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Expectations Between Soulmates

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Soulmates are not strictly romantic in this universe!

In fact, it's exceedingly common for twins to share a mark between them, and even for their mark to be a triad mark in and of itself. Obviously, in this situation, the bond is not expected to be romantic in any way. Likewise, marks between parents and children, though rare, have been known to exist, or marks between other close blood relatives. Marks between people who grew up together as siblings have also been known to exist, and it's not uncommon for these marks to also be a sign of an entirely platonic bond between two people.

Likewise, just as there are platonic positive bonds, there are platonic negative ones. There have been documented instances of successful war commanders sharing marks across a battlefield on opposite sides, and for completely insane individuals to share marks with someone they've attempted to victimize. A soulmate is someone who completes you in some way. They are someone perfect for you in _some way_. This does not mean that they are good for you. This does not mean that they will love you the way you want to be loved. It means that they will give you something no one else can, be it a challenge, someone to blame when things go wrong, someone to love dearly, or someone to make you rethink your way of life. Soulmates never mean a happy ending, and people know that this is a possibility, though in many places it happens to get glossed over as distasteful to admit to.

Please note that with the rarity of trinity soulmarks, and the proliferation of people having multiple marks, there will often be chains of people with soulmarks. In other words, person A will have the marks of person B and C, while person B might have E, F, and G, and Person C might have H, J, and Q, while F might share a mark with Q and Z. As you can see, it can get rather complicated rather quickly! It's all about the people involved and the way they fit together.

It's a very common practice for packs to accept the soulmates of those in their pack. If the head Alpha has a soulmate, they sometimes might actively _go looking_ for the other soulmates of their soulmate, because they want them to be happy, be they in a romantic or platonic relationship with that person. The biggest packs often form this way, with different relationships emerging from the staggered effect of one soulmate finding another, who finds another. It's considered a good practice, and humans are extremely inter-reliant on one another in this world, so it tends to work out in favor of those who manage to find one or more of their mates. Usually, in such groups, the hierarchy puts the soulmates of the one leading the pack in a higher social position than those who are the soulmates of those people and so on down the chain, just as their romantic soulmates have rank and preference over their non-romantic bonds, in most instances.

Soulmarks can appear right up until the moment of death, which means that sometimes, there are extremely large age gaps between pairs of mates. It should be noted that in some historical contexts, this has been abused, which is usually where instances of child spouses have appeared throughout history. Suffice to say, there has been considerable effort put into stamping out that particular practice, without complete success.

Sexual relations between even romantic soulmates are not any more required than those between platonic mates! There is not more or less draw, though one might find them more appealing than their other soulmate or mates instinctively. There is no way to tell, and there is no difference in fertility between platonic and non-platonic soulmates, or even soulmates and non-soulmates.

People do not always marry, or even meet their soulmates, and while society tends to view these matchups as being between people who are impatient, they are not actually disapproved of. Marrying for the sake of children, especially, makes any naysayers quiet down, typically.


	5. Gender, Social Identities, and Sexual Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gender, how it's picked, how it's used, and what the right words are to use at it. 
> 
> Oh, and how sexual orientation ties into all this mess.

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Gender Identity

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A hot-button issue in pretty much any world, it's especially so in this one due to the ambiguity of the whole thing. He and She aren't attached to any specific features on a human body anymore, so much as mannerisms and preferences. In some people, it's all down to what someone wants to hear when they're addressed more than anything else. There is, of course, always the issue of someone having and not wanting, or not having and wanting, breasts just as there is the same issue with facial and body hair. There are hormone treatments that can change that without any great issue, usually to permanent effect. Of course, this does little to nothing for the indoor plumbing when all is said and done if puberty is over already, but the superficial changes are doable.

Any person can go by male or female pronouns, but it's not polite to assume, and it's always best to use a gender-neutral address on anyone you don't have a preference for already. People often choose this early in their life based on whatever feels good to them, but some people are not so consistent. It's not unheard of for a person to be a different gender on any given day, just as it's known that some people stick to neutrals their entire lives until having children. Usually, at that point, if there is a switch to he or she at all, it's associated on if one fathered or mothered a child. Most people, however, tend to pick one and stick to it.

There is no social stigma attached to any of the preferences, though it should be noted that people who choose he are more often seen as those who lean toward physicality and clothes that reflect that capacity, and those who choose she are often expected to be either domestic or intensely flashy in their attire. Any gender can wear any mode of dress, and neutrals have been spotted in clothes from petticoats to completely trashed jeans. Suffice to say that gender roles are much more fluid in this world, and largely a matter of personal choice and personality.

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Modes of Address

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First thing's first, titles. 

As mentioned in the first chapter, Lords are always those who inherited, Ladies are always their spouses. If someone is a sibling to the one who inherited, this will also make them a Lady unless they're next in line for the title. Both terms are considered gender neutral as they indicate rank and closeness to it, not gender, and it's perfectly acceptable to call someone Lord something or another even if they have no title of any kind, such as in a non-monarchy. Similarly, there is nothing wrong with calling one's spouse Lady, as that is calling them yours, even if they're preferentially male.

Mr, Ms, and Mj. Mr is, of course, short for Mister, for addressing those who prefer the male, Ms for the feminine Miz, and Mj is the gender-neutral term that is for Mij. Suffice to say, you always greet a stranger with the last of the three.

Pronouns and usage! There are five sets of commonly used pronouns in this world and they are as follows.

She/Her/Hers for feminine people. He/Him/His for masculine people. Ze/Zer/Zers, They/Them/Theirs, and Shi/Hir/Hirs for gender neutrals. You'll often find that those of gender-neutral status will waver between the use of the three sets, or preferentially combine them, and any are acceptable unless a preference is stated. 

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Sexual Orientations

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As has probably been guessed, sexual orientation in this world has a rather dizzying number of factors. There is sex, gender, proclivity, and even soulmates to take into account, and that's enough to confuse just about anyone. This world does, of course, have people who are asexual, demisexual, bisexual, pansexual, and homosexual. Hilariously, there really isn't a term for what is heterosexual in our world because of the triad of the sexes.

It should be noted for every 'sexual' there is also a variation of 'romantic' that is just the same. Someone can, of course, be homosexual and triromantic, for instance, meaning they only sleep with their own sex, but like to date all genders. This can be mixed and matched for _all_ the terms in this world.

We'll just start at the top, shall we? People who are only interested in their Soulmates are a known phenomena in this world, and usually, all other details are unimportant to such people. These people all have some flavor of demisexual going on, and there is nothing considered strange about that because of how deeply tied to pack bonding soulmates are considered to be. 

Similarly, asexuals commonly have entirely non-sexual soulmates all around, and while rarer, this has been mostly accepted in modern society since they often find packs to bond into without being concerned with sexual matters.

Bisexual, in the context of this world, usually means you like both of the other sexes, but not your own. This is the most common sexual preference in this world, and for a long time was the only one people really wanted to admit existed.

Rarer, but still prevalent, are those who are unisexual, which means that they like only one of the other sexes. An example of this is a Beta who only likes Alphas, or an Omega who only likes Betas. In this case, instead of liking both the other genders, these people have a strong preference for just the one.

Homosexual, of course, means you only like your own sex, flat out. Omegas liking Omegas, Alphas liking Alphas, Betas liking Betas. Done deal. For a long time, people didn't want to admit this was a thing outside of Betas, who were considered 'acceptable' in this arena due to being able to have children together.

Trisexual is the final sex-based sexual preference and means that you like all three sexes with equal, or approaching it, preference. Alphas, Betas, Omegas, that will not deter you.

Androsexual is someone who only is attracted to those with masculine features, such as body and facial hair, heavy features, or high muscle tone.

Gynsexual is someone who is only attracted to those with feminine features, such as breasts, smooth skin, delicate features, and a softer body. 

Minasexual is someone who is only attracted to those who are more dominant than themselves, or who otherwise take charge of situations so they don't have to.

Teresexual is someone who is only attracted to someone who is more submissive than themselves, who allow themselves to be led or controlled and are happy to be so.

Pansexual, of course, means you just plain like everything, no holds barred, bring it on. 

There are more terms, of course, but these are the ones that are in common circulation. Uni, Bi, Homo, and Trisexual are the most commonly used four, with the rest being less used, but still known in most circles.

Unfortunately, there are prejudices against some of these. Those relating to proclivities probably get it the worst in the current era, followed by those who have unconventional sexualities. To what degree I will leave up to any who happen to take this world on for themselves, though the base world is somewhat progressive, and discrimination about sexuality is, for the most part, not considered politically correct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ends the guide! I look forward to seeing what people made of this world, and what they do with it in the future. Let me know what you think!


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